Method of and apparatus for feeding fabrics



I 1,645,501 0 11 1927- H. I. HUEY METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGFABRICS Filed July 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A VENTOR Oct. 11, 1927.1,645,501

/JJ 15x lNl/ENTOR-l Patented Oct. 11, 192".

UNITED STATES PATENT oF-rrcs.

HAROLD I. HUEY, OF SAYLESVILLE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO SAYLES FINISH-ING PLANTS INQ, OF SAYLESVILLE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODEISLAND.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FABRICS.

Application filed July 2, 1926. Serial No. 120,225.

The present invention relates to the treat- Jncnt of fabrics to impartdesired properties to the same, and more particularly to a method of andapparatus for feeding the fabric so that successive portions of thefabric will be subjected to an uniform time treatment.

In treating a fabric to impart a desired finish to the same or desiredproperties to the fabric, it is often desired to feed the fabriccontinuously while it is being sub jected to the dillerent treatments,but in many cases it is necessary to allow a time interval to elapsebetween different treatments. If the time interval is very short thesame may be provided by passing the fabric around several rolls orguides while travel ing from one place of treatment to another, but if arelatively long time interval is required to elapse between thesuccessive treatments it may be necessary to slow down the speed atwhich the fabric is advanced or to provide means for supporting a longstrip of fabric traveling from one place of treatment to another.

If it is unnecessary to keep the fabric in a stretched condition duringthe period between successive treatments the traveling fabric may bedeposited in a receptacle or container in which it may remain for thedesired period, but fabrics that need. to be held in a stretchedcondition during the treatment period cannot be deposited in areceptacle in the manner just mentioned.

In order to keep a sheet of fabric in a stretched condition during theperiod required to elapse between treatments various forms of devicesknown as continuous agers have been roposed heretofore. These devicesusual y consist of a number of fabric supporting rolls arranged instaggered relation so that the fabric travels along a zigzag path inpassing around the different rolls. Such proposed devices work very wellwhere the length of fabric required to be maintained in a stretchedcondition is relatively short, but if a long strip of fabric is required to be maintained in a stretched condition the number of staggeredrolls required to support the fabric and the space which the rollsoccupy may be excessive.

Having the foregoing in mind the present invention relates to a fabricadvancing device or continuous batcher which is ex tremely simple inconstruction, and which consists of but few parts, while at the same tme it will maintain in a stretched condition a traveling sheet of anylength.

The principal feature of the invention res1des in the method of andapparatus for handling a fabric whereby a plurality of (30115 or layersof the fabric are advanced as a unit around their supporting structure,and fresh portions of the fabric are wound about the support at one sideof the travelmg layers while corresponding portions of the fabric areled off from the opposite side .of the group of layers. In this mannerthe .ric supply, and if desired a fabric treating .device, are supportedwithin the space en- .closed by the traveling coils.

Still another feature of the invention resides in the constructionwhereby the coils travel within a closed air-tight chamber so that theymay be treated while in said chamber to a gas confined therein.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be bestunderstood from the .following description and accompanying drawingsshowing good practical means for carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a construction for carryingout the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 on a reduced scale is a view similar to Fig. 1 but shows amodified construction.

The supporting means upon which the traveling coils of fabric are woundmay be varied in size and shape as desired, and the coils may travelwithin a closed passage, or may be exposed as deemed advisable.

In the construction shown the coils of the fabric F are supported by thespaced rolls 10 that are arranged to form an enclosure in which thesource of fabric supply 11 may be mounted. The rolls 10 are rotatablysupported by a frame of any desired construction and they are providedwith the stub shafts 12 that rotate in suitable bearings carried by saidframe.

The rolls 10 in the present construction are supported within a closedendless passage 13, and it should be noted that a portion of the passage13 extends below the floor X of the building while the upper portion ofthis passage is located a substantial distance above said floor.

As a result of this construction the passage 13 encloses a space orchamber in which means for supporting and treatlng the fabric F may bemounted. The walls 14 of the passage 13 may be formed of wood, metal,concrete, or

any other material found desirable or neces-' sary to resist the actionof the liquid or gases that may be employed in treating the fabric Fwhile passing through the passage.

In the construction shown the fabric F to be treated is unwound from thesupply roll 11 supported by the frame 15, and it passes over suitableguide rolls 16 and feed rolls 17 to a treatment tank 18 where it isimmersed in the desired liquid. The fabric upon leaving the tank 18passes between the squeeze rolls 19 and 20, one of which may be adjustedrelatively to the other by the hand wheel 21 and is forced toward theother roll by the weight 22.

The fabric F passes from the roll 20 about one of the coil supportingrolls 10 and then about the series of rolls 10 to form any desirednumber of spiral coils, and the fabric passes from the outermost coilabout a roll 23 to any desired means such as a device for subjecting thefabric to its next treatment. It will be understood that the pluralityof coils of the fabric travel as a unit relatively to their supportingrolls and that the unwinding portion of the fabric passes continuouslyout 'of the passage 13 about the roll 23 while a fresh portion of thefabric passes continuously into the chamber from the roll 20. In thismanner the passage of the fabric around the chamber 13 is a continuousoperation and each portion of the fabric is subjected to a uniform timetreatment while passing from the roll 20 to the roll 23.

It may be desirable to drive the rolls 10 to thereby help advance thecoils of the fabric about the chamber 13, and to this end each of therolls 10 may have a sprocket 24 secured outside of the passage to aprojecting stub shaft. The different sprockets may be driven by anendless chain 25 the tension of which may be varied by adjusting thechain tightening sprocket 26. The chain 25 may be driven by any suitablemeans such as an electric motor 27 having a worm wheel 28 that drives abelt or chain 29 which in turn drives the belt or chain 30.

The construction described, whereby any desired number of layers of thefabric may be wound upon the rolls 10 and advanced as a unit relativelyto. said rolls, not only constitutes an extremely simple 'andsatisfactory construction for maintaining a traveling sheet of fabric ofany desired length in a stretched condition, but since the differentcoils or layers of the fabric are laid one over the other in contactwith each other, the engagement of one coil with another helps to keepthe sheets from contracting or shrinking in a direction transversely ofthe fabric.

Ifa large number of coils of the fabric are wound about the rolls 10 theaccumulation of the coils may tend to increase the tension of theoutermost coils, but this tension may be relieved by placing one or moreof the rolls at the outside of the coils instead of inside, as will beapparent upon observing the position of the rolls 10 mounted in thelower portion of the the passage 13.

- In some cases it may be desirable to expose the fabric travelingwithin the passage 13 to a gas confined within'the passage, in whichcase it may be desirable to provide an air tight liquid seal at thepoints where the fabric enters and leaves the chamber. Means to this endis shown in the modified construction of Fig. 3 wherein it will be seenthat the fabric F passes from the roll 20 around a roll 31 and thendownwardly about a roll 32 positioned below the surface of the liquidconfined in the receptacle 33. One portion of the wall 14 is secured tothe receptacle 33 while another portion of the wall extends downwardlyinto the receptacle 33, the arrangement being such that the liquidwithin the receptacle 33 prevents the gas from escaping from the passageat the point where the fabric enters the passage. The fabric F inleaving the chamber 13 passes through a similar air-tight liquid sealformed by the receptacle 34. In the construction shown in Fig. 3 thesupply of fab ric- 11 is mounted on a wheel truck 35 so that it may beeasily moved to and from the unwinding position.

In the construction shown and described the fabric passes from a sourceof supply to the inside of the traveling coils and issues from the outerface of these coils, but this is not necessary in all embodiments of theinvention since if desired the fabric may travel in the oppositedirection so that it is led to the outermost coil and issues from theinnermost coil. It is important to note that irrespective of the di.rection in which the fabric F travels within the treatment chamber, eachportion of the fabric will remain in such chamber the same length oftime as every other por- Ill tion, th'us insuring uniform treatment ofall portions of the fabric.

The coil supporting structure form ng the subject matter of the presentinvention may be employed for various purposes and the fabric may besubjected to a liquid, gaseous or heat treatment while traveling in thepassage 13, or it may be passe around the supporting rolls 10 to allow adefinite interval of time to elapse between successive treatments of thetraveling fabric, one of the treatments being effected before the fabricreaches the supporting rolls 10 and the other treatment being effectedafter it leaves the rolls 10. The time interval just mentioned may bevaried as desired by varying the speed at which the rolls 10 are drivenand also by increasing or decreasing the number of layers of the fabricwound upon the rolls 10.

What is claimed is 1. The method of advancing a sheet of fabric tosubject successive portions thereof to a time treatment of equalduration, WhlCh consists in feeding a sheet of fabric from a centrallydisposed source of supply along a path that surrounds the source ofsupply so that the fabric passes repeatedly around said path to form aplurality of layers la1d one over the other and which travelprogresslvely from the point at which the sheet enters said path to apoint at the opposite side of the traveling layers and at whlch thesheet issues from said path.

2. The method of advancing a sheet of fabric to subject successiveportions thereof to an uniform time treatment, which con sists infeeding a sheet of fabric from a source of en ply along a path thatsurrounds the source 0 supply so that the fabrlc passes repeatedlyaround said path to form spirally wound contacting layers that travelprogressively from the point at which the sheet enters said path to apoint at the opposite side of the traveling ayers and at WhlCh the sheetissues from said path.

3. The method of advancing a sheet of fabric to subject successiveportions thereof to an uniform time treatment, which consists in feedinga plurality of spirally wound contacting layers of the fabric as a unitalong a path that surrounds a central point so that each portion of thefabric enters the path at a predetermined point at one side of the pathand travels spirally from one layer to the other until it completes itstravel between the layers and issues from the opposite side of thetraveling layers of fabric.

4. The method of advancing a sheet of fabric through an endless passage,which consists in feeding a sheet 0 fabric from asource of supply intoan enclosure construct- I ed to form an endless passage and along thepassage so that the fabric passes repeatedly around the passage to formspirally wound layers that travel progressively from the point at whichthe sheet enters the passage to a point at the opposite side of thetraveling layers and at which the sheet issues from the passage.

5. The method of advancing a sheet of fabric to subject successiveportions thereof to a time treatment of equal duration, which consistsin feedin a sheet of fabric from a source of supply a ong a ath thatsurrounds a central point so that the fabric passes repeatedly aroundsaid path to form s irally wound contacting layers that travel as a unitrelatively to the fabric supports along said path, and advancing thefabric sheet progressively from the point at which it enters said pathalong the different layers to a point at the opposite side of thetraveling layers where it leaves said path.

6. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a fabricsupport adapted to have a plurality of layers of the fabric wound aroundthe support one over the other in contact with each other, means foradvancing the (oils as a unit around said support and for feeding freshportions of the fabric to the innermost coil from a point within thefabric support and for leading the wound fabric sheet off from theoutermost coil.

7. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a fabricsupport adapted to have a plurality of layers of the fabric woundspirally around the support one over the other in contact with eachother throughout the different coils, means for advancing the coils as aunit around said support and for leading fresh portions of the fabric toone face of the advancing coils and for leading the wound sheet 011'from the o posite face of the advancing coils so that eac portion of thesheet travels progressively along the different coils.

8. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls mounted in spaced relation to each other about acentral point to sup ort a plurality of coils of the fabric woun aboutthe group of rolls one upon the other in superimposed contacting coilsthat surround said point, and means for feeding successive portions ofthe fabric sheet from a source of supply to said rolls so that theyadvance about the rolls from one coil to the-other until they issue fromthe opposite face of the coils from which they approached the same.

9. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls mounted in spaced relation to each other about acentral point to support a plurality of coils of the fabric wound uponthe group of rolls and about said point in contacting spiral layers, andmeans for feeding successive iportions of the fabric sheet from a source0 supply to said rolls so that the portions of the sheet travel aboutthe rolls and advance spirally from one coil to the other until theyissue from the opposite face of the coils from which they approached thesame. a

10. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls arranged about and in spaced relation to asource of fabric supply and adapted to have the sheet of fabric woundaround the series of rolls in superimposed coils, means for supportingthe source of fabric supply within the space enclosed by the coils offabric wound upon said rolls, and means for advancing successiveportions of the sheet of fabric from the sourceof supply to theinnermost coil supported by said rolls and along the successive coilsuntil each portion of the sheet issues from the outermost coil of theseries.

11. A fabric advancing device, compris ng in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls arranged about and in spaced relation to asource of fabric supply and adapted to have the sheet of fabric woundaround the series of rolls in superimposed coils, means for supportingthe source of fabric supply within the space enclosed by the (20118 offabric wound upon said rolls, and means for advancing successiveportions of the sheet of fabric from the source of supply to one face ofthe group of coils supported by said rolls and along the successivecoils until each portion of the sheet issues from the opposite face ofthe series of coils, and means for driving the rolls to feed the fabricthey engage. 0

12. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls mounted about and in spaced relation to acentral point and adapted to support a plurality of coils of the fabricwound about the group of rolls in contacting layers, which help to holdthe successively laid coils in a transversely stretched condition, andmeans for advancing the series of layers as a unit about the rolls sothat each portion of the fabric led into contact with one face of thetraveling coils passes along the successive coils until it issues fromthe opposite face of the series of coils.

13. A fabric advancin device, comprising in combination, a guide or atraveling sheet of fabric, a series of fabric supporting rolls mountedabout and in spaced relation to said fabric guide and adapted to supporta plurality of coils of the fabric wound around the series of rolls insuperimposed contacting layers so that the coils surround said guide,and are advanced as a unit about the different supporting rolls, andmeans for feeding successive portions of the sheet of fabric from saidguide to the innermost coil supported by said rolls and along thesuccessive eat er coils until each portion of the sheet issues from theoutermost coil of the series.

14. A fabric advancing device, comprising in combination, a source offabric supply supported by the floor of a building, a series of\ fabricsupporting rolls mounted above and below the floor of the building andabout said source of supply and arranged to support a plurality of coilsof the fabric wound spirally about the series of rolls so that the coilssurround the source of fabric supply and pass above and below saidfloor, and means for advancing the plurality of coils as a unit aboutsaid rolls so that the successive portions of the fabric pass from thesource of supply to the innermost coil supported by the rolls and alongthe spiral coiills until they issue from the outermost C01 15 A deviceof the class described, comprising in combination, a casing constructedto provide an endless passage, rolls within said passage and adapted tosupport a plurality of coils of a fabric wound around the passage uponsaid rolls, means for advancing the plurality of coils as a unit withinsaid passage so that the successive portions of the fabric pass from thesource of supply into said passage and progressively from one coil tothe other until they issue from the opposite face of the coils.

16. A device of the class described, comprising in combination, a casingconstructed to provide an endless air-tight passage, rolls within saidpassage and adapted to support a plurality of coils of a fabric woundaround the passage upon said rolls, means for advancingthe plurality ofcoils as a unit within said passage so that successive portions of thefabric pass progressively from one coil to the other until they issuefrom the opposite face of the coils, and means at the points where thefabric enters and leaves said passage and adapted to' prevent gaseousfluid within said passage from escaping at the fabric entrance and exit.

a 17. A fabric advancing device, comprismg in combination, a series offabric supporting rolls spaced apart a sufficient distance to form anenclosure in which a workman may remain during the fabric advancingoperation and having a plurality of layers of the fabric wound aroundthe series of rolls in overlying coils, means for advancing the coils asa unit around the path defined by said rolls, and means for feedingfresh portions of the fabric to the path at one face of the series ofcoils and for leading the wound sheet off from the opposite face of thetraveling coils.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

HAROLD I. HUEY.

